Brinell hardness testing machine



Oct-6, 1942. H. c. KNERR ET AL BRINELL HARDNESS TESTING MACHINE FiledOct. 14, 1939 5 Sheets-Sheet l m R .Y O E T N N R E 0 E QT NC T 1942- H.c. KNERR ET AL 2,297,778

BRINELL HARDNESS TESTING MACHINE Filed Oct. 14, 1959' 3 Sheets-Sheet 212275 J 6/ g 12/: I I .1205; i 125 f INVENTORS Home: (I Kazan ANDREW KmeATTORNEY.

Patented Oct. 6, 1942 BRINELL HARDNESS TESTING MACHINE Horace C. Knerr,Chestnut Hill, and Andrew King, Penn Valley, Pa.

Application October 14, 1939, Serial No. 299,458

2 Claims.

This invention relates to hardness testing machines and, moreparticularly, to the type of such machine used for testing the Brinellhardness of various metals.

Heretofore when metal shapes were to be tested for their Brinellhardness it was necessary to bring the shapes to a heavy, fiXed machineand move the shape into position between the Brinell ball and the anvil.

The present invention comprises a portable Brinell testing machine whichmay not only be moved readily by hand from one specimen to another butin which also the head and all parts necessary for exerting pressure onthe ball may be removed as a unit from association with the anvil andmounted wherever suitable clamping means may be found.

A primary object of the invention is to provide a portable Brinelltesting machine which may be operated in any position.

Another object of the invention is to provide a Brinell testing machineseparable into a unitary ball carrying and operating head and into ananvil and frame.

A further object of the invention is to provide a Brinell head operablewherever a suitable anvil and clamp is available.

A further object is to provide a hydraulic Brinell testing machine inwhich no fluid will leak from the machine regardless of position.

A more specific object of the invention is to provide a Brinell testingmachine in which means are provided for intercepting and returning tothe sump before it reaches the gaskets all fluid under pressure on theram.

Other specific objects and advantages of the invention will be apparentfrom the following specification, claims and from the drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a plan View of the preferred embodiment of the invention;

Fig. 2 is a front elevation thereof;

Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the embodiment shown in Figs. 1 and 2;

Fig. 4 is a plan view of the head shown in Figs. 1 to 3;

Fig. 5 is a vertical sectional view taken on the line 55 of Fig. 4,partially broken away;

Figs. 6 and 7 are vertical sectional views taken on the lines G--6 andl'l of Fig. 4;

Fig. 8 is a side elevational view of block forming a part of the head;and

Figs. 9 to 13 are horizontal sectional views of the block taken on thelines 99, Ill-I0, I l-l I, l2--|2 and I3l3 respectively of Fig. 8.

Referring now to the drawings in which is illustrated the now preferredembodiment of the invention a head containing all operative elements forapplying a predetermined pressure is mounted on frame indicatedgenerally at 2|, The frame may include a base 23 carrying an anvil 24 onwhich a test piece 25 may be placed. To the base is also connected twoparallel vertical threaded posts 26 to the upper ends of which may beconnected a horizontal strap 21 which helps maintain the posts 26 inparallelism and acts as a handle by which the entire machine may becarried.

A carriage indicated generally at 28 may be mounted for verticalmovement on the two posts 26 in any conventional and well known manner.As indicated in Figures 1 and 3, two parallel side arms 29, 29, areconnected to two transverse blocks 30 each comprising a gear 3|, 3|,interiorly threaded on one of the posts 23. The two gears 3|, 3| meshwith a common gear 32 having a beveled face 33 which face meshes with asimilarly beveled gear 48 keyed to a crank handle shaft passing throughone of the side arms 29 and terminating in the handle 34. By turning thehandle 34 the interiorly threaded gears will be moved along the posts 26simultaneously and the carriage 28 raised or lowered normally withrespect to the anvil 24 to accommodate work of different dimensions.

The forward ends of the two arms 29, 29, are spaced apart sufiicientlyto receive the head 20. The head may be arranged in a predeterminedposition over the anvil 24 by means of the opposed arced surfaces 35, 35forwardly on the lower edges of the.two arms 29 engaging two similarlyshaped bosses 36, 36, on the head 20 and by the engagement of twoopposed screws 31, 31 in the head 20 with two slots 38, 38 in the arms29. As will be apparent from the drawings, especially Fig. 3, the arcsdefining the surfaces 35, 35 and the corresponding surfaces of bosses36, 35 are struck from a common axis which includes the center of thespherical indentor carried by the head and hereinafter more fullydescribed and extends normal to the path of movement of the indentor,whereby forces acting through these surfaces when the machine is in useare kept substantially radial with respect to the indentor and lateralthrust due to off center application of pressure, with resultantinaccurate test readings, thereby minimized. The head 20 may be readilyremoved from the frame 2| by loosening the two screws 31, 31 and liftingthe head out from between the two arms 29, 29. The head may beindependently carried as by its handle 4|.

The head 20 basically is a single block of metal bored, threaded,drilled and plugged as hereinafter described to provide a closed systemfor a hydraulic fluid 49 which may be oil and, for the sake ofconvenience, hereinafter termed oil, lying entirely within the blockexcept for one connec tion and passageway to a pressure gauge 56.Broadly considered the system includes in addition to the pressure gauge56 a ram or piston 50, a hand operated circulating pump 52, a pressurerelief valve 54, a pressure release valve 55' and an oil sump 51.

In order to carry the ram 50 the head 20 may, adjacent its forward end,be centrally boredcompletely through from top to bottom to provide acylinder 60 (Figures 5, 8 et seq.) 'The wall or. the

cylinder near its upper end may be circled .by a

groove 6| for purposes hereinafter described and similarly circled :byagroove '62 near .to lower end. Below .groove :62 .the :cylinder .may becounterbored to receive 'a packing gasket .63 and. partiallythreaded'to. receive agasket clamp ring 64.

The ram 50 maybe shaped as a hollowplunger open .at 1 the upper end .and:closed' at: the .lower end to which lower en'd may'beaaxially connectedas by the knurled nut 66. a .conventionalihardened ball 67. Partially:within and spaced from :the inner wall of .the ram 50ilies the combinedoil sump and cylinder head 5'! the upper end of which carries a flange Ihaving a diameter equal to the inner diameter .of -the cylinder 160.within which it makes a pressed fit above the ram 50. The upper end ofthe cylinder 60 may be threaded to a receive .an exteriorly and.interiorly threaded nut 65, the-lower surface of which bears-againstthe outer portion of upper surface of the flange 10 and locks the sump-'Iin'place. The inner portion of the uppersurface of the flange 70forms a bearing surface for theupper open end ofa'flexible elasticandfluid proof sac'll which may be held in place by a threadedlockwasher 72 engaging the lower threads on' the inner walls of the nut 55.'Theupper portions of-the inner threads on the nut 65 are engaged by thethreaded lower end of a hardened-cap I5 which is perforated as at '16 toprevent formationof-avacuum as the sac II is expanded-or contractedunder varying oil conditions within the sump 51.

In order'to lower the ram "50 to force the ball 51 into a specimen tobetested, oil'is 'drawn from the sump 5'1 through alongitudinal'horizontal bore 80 -in-the flange I0 andan aligned bore BIin the head 20 (Figs. 5 and '13) 'into a'vertical bore 02 connectingthrough longitudinal horizontal bore85with the lower end of the pressurerelief valve chamber 54 (Figs. 5 and 9). From the lower endof thechamber54 the oil passes upwardly throughaport 8! in the seat 88 0f aball 89and into an annular chamber '90 from which'it passesintoatransverse horizontal-bore 9! connected to the lower endo'fthepump-chamber 84. (Figs. '5, '7 and 10.)

So that there'will be-no suction through the gland around the-shaftflii-of thepump-gear 95 on the downward stroke, a transverse-horizontalbore 83 connects the upper part ofthe pump cylinder 84 with the verticalbore =82 and hence with the sump 51.

From the structures so far described,it will be obvious that when thepump plunger t iisiraised through a partialrotationof the segmentalgear'05 which is-keyed to'the shaft '06 actuated by the lever 91 oil will besucked into the bottom of the pump cylinder through the bores 80, SI,82, 85, 81, valve chamber 90 and the bore 91!. On a downward movement ofthe pump plunger oil is forced out of the pump cylinder into the bores9| and the ball valve chamber 90 again but the ball 89 being seated byreason of the pressure of the spring 95 in conjunction with the oilpressure the oil is forced upwardly through the port 96 in theball-valve seat 91 past the ball 98 into the annular chamber 99. Fromthe chamber 99 the oil passes through the longitudinal horizontal boreI00 (Figs. 5 and 11) the forward end of which connects with a verticalbore I0l which in turn connects with a horizontal bore I102 (Fig. 13)leading into the groove 6! and the space between the cylinder head andthe interior of the ram. Thus as the oil is forced into the groove theram is moved downwardly.

In order to connect a pressure gauge into the system to insure properoperation, from adjacent the rear endof the horizontal longitudinal boreI00 avertical bore I05 passes upwardly (Figs. 5, 11, 12, and 13)connecting with alongitudinal horizontal bore I05 which in turn connectswith a vertical bore I01 threaded to receive a pressure gauge 55. Thusthe'pressuregauge is at all times tied into the oilsystemon'the.pressureside of the ram.

To release pressure .on the ram, aitransverse horizontal bore I I0connects the longitudinal horizontal bore I 00 with avertical bore I I Icarryingthe pressure release valve-55 (Figs. 6,11 and 12). Above andconnecting with thebore III maybe an annular ball valve chamber H 2 inwhich lies a ball H3 whichmaybe pressed on to its seat by the lower endof a shaft H 4 in threaded engagement with bore I I6 axially alignedwith bore III. The upper end-of the shaft I I4 may extend above theupper'levelof the head 20 and may be fitted with a lever I I5 tofacilitate turning of the shaft. -When pressure is released by turningthe lever, i..e., permitting pressure to open the ball valve, oil passesthrough the chamber [I2 into a longitudinal horizontal bore I20connecting with a vertical bore I2! from adjacent the upper end of whicha short horizontal bore I22 leads into the upper part'of the sump 51.The groove 62 is also connected tothe vertical bore I2! by thehorizontal bore I23 and through it to the sump. Thus any-oil which leaksdown between the ram and the cylinder walls is returned to the sump andat notime is there pressure on'the packing gasketfit.

The annular pressure chamber 99 which is under pressure when the ram isbeinglowered is normally cut off from the bore I25 (and-hence the sump)by a spring controlled ball valve (Fig. 5) in which the ball I28 isnormally kept seated, on the upper end of a vertical passageway'l29,connecting the chamber 99 with the borel'25, by a spring actuatedplunger I30. As is conventional practice the tension of the spring maybeadjusted by a nut I3I threaded into the bore above the spring. Thespring preferably may be adjusted to permit the valve to open at themaximum pressure under which it is desired to work the rams, e. g., 3000kilograms. To provide eliminating any possibility of back pressure onthe ball I28, a transverse horizontal bore I25 connects the bore I20 andhence the sump at all times with the pressure relief valve 54 (Figs. 5and 12) While it has not been specifically shown it will be obvious tothose skilled in the art'that the bores must be drilled from the outersurfaces of the block and it is contemplated that all of these bores besuitably threaded and capped or otherwise closed.

From the description above given it will be obvious that a Brinellhardness testing machine has been provided that is complete in itself orfrom which may be separated a self contained head which is operablewherever a suitable clamp or vise may be found. Further, it will beapparent that the testing machine is operable in any position in whichit may be placed and this without any danger of leakage of the hydraulicfluid.

Various modifications may be made in the above described embodiment ofthe invention without departing from the spirit and scope thereof as setforth in the following claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A portable Brinell testing device comprising a Brinell tester head, acarriage having spaced arms provided with arcuate sockets at their lowerportions near one extremity, the arms extending on either side of thehead, arcuate bosses on the head engaging in the sockets and meanscooperative with the bosses for fastening the head in position betweenthe arms.

2. In a portable Brinell hardness tester, the combination of a base, twoscrews rigid with said base, a carriage mounted on said screws, movablerelative to said base and comprising a pair of gear driven nutsrespectively disposed on the screws, gears for driving the nuts and acrank mounted on the carriage for turning the gears, an indentor, a testhead supporting and capable of applying a load to said indentor, meansincluding coaxial arcuate bosses on said test head and correspondinglycurved recesses in said carriage for mounting said test head in thecarriage, and means for releasably locking said test head with respectto said carriage with the bosses in said recesses.

ANDREW KING. HORACE C. KNERR.

